Lutron Shades Follow the Sun as Days Shorten this Fall
By October, the sun sits low enough to shoot straight through your largest windows. It glares off the TV during the afternoon game and hits you square in the eyes at the kitchen table. Close the blinds, and the room grows dim. Leave them open, and the glare is so strong you can’t see the action on the television.
Anyone who has lived through a New England fall knows how fast the light shifts once the clocks go back. Motorized shades track the sun’s movement and manage it on your behalf, so you get ultimate comfort without lifting a finger.
Cut Low-Angle Glare and Keep the View
As summer fades, the sun's path drops lower in the sky. Light no longer passes overhead. It comes in nearly sideways, reaches deep into the room, and lands right on screens and primary seating areas.
A Lutron roller shade in a sheer or solar fabric softens that light before it reaches you. You keep the view of the fall foliage, and the fabric blocks a share of the UV rays that fade hardwood floors and rugs over time. Each fabric has an openness percentage. A lower number means a tighter weave and less light, while a higher number lets in more of the outdoors.
We’ll work with you to find the right openness factor for your home. A west-facing family room needs a denser fabric than an east-facing breakfast nook. Application matters too. We recommend full blackout shadows in theaters, while kitchens can always benefit from some soft lighting. We’ll then help you program your favorite settings for when you want to open and close the shades, including the position. All without you having to deal with a jumbled cord.
Program Shades to Follow Sunrise and Sunset
Sunset moves a few minutes earlier every day in the fall, which is exactly the kind of detail people forget. A Lutron system follows an astronomical schedule that raises shades at sunrise and lowers them at sunset, and the times shift automatically as the days shorten.
We’ll program these scenes for you. After that, the shades adjust on their own, and you can still override any of them from a wall keypad or the Lutron app when you want a different setting for a given afternoon.
You can also tie shades to how you use a room. A Movie Night scene lowers the shades and dims the lights in a single press. If your home runs on Control4 or Savant, the shades join the same scenes as your audio, video, and lighting, so one tap sets the whole room.
Add Privacy and Warmth as the Days Get Short
Once the clocks change, sunset arrives around 4:30 in the afternoon. A lit living room with a large window looks like a stage to anyone passing by. Shades that lower at dusk give you privacy without doing a lap around the house to close each one.
For rooms where you want daytime light and evening privacy, we recommend using dual roller shades. A sheer shade does the job during the day, and a blackout or privacy fabric behind it closes the room at night. A cellular fabric adds a layer of insulation to the glass, which you notice on a cold morning beside a big picture window.
If you are ready to see how motorized shades could work in your home, we are ready to help. Call PMC Technologies or send us a message to schedule a consultation.
